Kirishima Forces Out Asanoyama to Stay at 4-1; Asanoyama, 1-4 Against the Top Ranks: 'This Is Where My Strength Is Right Now'
Ozeki Kirishima, 30 (Otowayama), forced out East Maegashira 1 Asanoyama, 32 (Takasago), on Day 5 to finish the opening stretch 4-1. Asanoyama stepped in hard, got his right arm in and drove Kirishima to the edge once but couldn't finish. Back in the center, Kirishima got his right arm in and took the left uwate; when Asanoyama tried to switch grips, Kirishima opened to the right with a dashinage and forced him out (Nikkan Sports, Yomiuri Shimbun Online). 'I stayed calm right to the end. I'm concentrating one bout at a time,' Kirishima said. 'There's a long way to go. I don't want to lose focus.' Tokyo Sports notes he won his third title in March to regain ozeki, saw his yokozuna bid end at 8-7 in September, and leads the race for most wins this year with 59.
Asanoyama, who beat Aonishiki on Day 1, has since lost to both yokozuna and ozeki Kotozakura and Kirishima, finishing his run against the top ranks 1-4. 'I meant to make the first move, but I couldn't attack when his left side opened up,' he said. 'This is where my strength is now. What I learned is that my current strength doesn't work against them. My body isn't in bad shape; if I can fix little things... The basho isn't over. I want to get ahead.' Hakkaku: 'He's getting good practice, isn't he? It's about how much he can do. If he can get kachi-koshi at this rank, it means something.'
Sources: Yahoo! Japan Sports (Tokyo Sports) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports / Asanoyama) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports / Hakkaku)